All About Haiti - Part 2

Alright, I'm back. Sorry for the delay, but I didn't want to have one giant post that made you go blind from reading it. I think I left off in Haiti starting Saturday morning, January 30th.



On Saturday I went with a couple of guys to take an extra mattress, an old metal frame, and some cinder blocks to a blind widow with diabetes. This lady had a small son who had to be around 3-4 years old who led her around. The orphanage really tries to help her out as much as possible with food and medical attention. She had never had a proper bed before and was sleeping on the dirt floor in the little wood shack she was living in. She was so excited when we came and she didn't realize that we were going to do that. After we set it up she walked around yelling "Glory to God!" in Creole and hugging and kissing us on our cheeks.



Later that day I rode in the big truck with several of the other team members to the "air strip" on one side of the city. We had to go there because Danita had found three more kids in Port au Prince that had had amputations and could not travel to the orphanage via a truck. So, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flew them in that afternoon and we were there to pick them up. It was really hot in the sun and probably around the upper 90s. When the plane came there were hundreds of people around our truck trying to see us and the plane that was landing on the grass field. In fact when the plane was landing and taking off we had to work really hard to keep everyone off the field and out of the way.



Once we had the kids we loaded them up and took them back to the orphanage. One little boy had had an amputated arm to the shoulder and a broken femur that was casted without x-rays and was in a body cast from the waste down. Another little girl also had a broken femur and was casted from the waste down without x-rays. The third little boy actually had severe cerebral palsy and his mother had took him to a hospital for a few stitches and then abandoned him there without anybody to take care of him.

The rest of the day we took care of the kids and I started to help a little boy named Johnny to learn how to walk again. (He had had a broken femur and was able to have pins put in it after he had crawled around for 11 days with it sticking out of his skin in Port au Prince).

Later that night we had the biggest scare of the trip. On our way back to our houses around 10pm the first group had a guy on a stolen motorcycle come around a corner on a street and hit one of our team members head on. The lady was named Robin and she is actually Amanda's (our trip leader and Executive Director of Visiting Orphans) sister. When she was hit she thrown around 10 feet away and most everyone right next to her thought she was either dead or seriously injured. The bike was broke and the guy ran away before anybody could get him. After the doctors on our team checked her out we found out that she only had some really bad cuts, bruises, torn clothes, and a busted lip. There truly must have been angels protecting her that night because she should have been hurt really badly. So needless to say, we were on the look out the rest of our way walking back to our houses.



By Sunday we were definitely settling into our routine and our jobs as a team. We got up early and were at the compound by 7:30am. We helped get ready for church service which was outside because of all of the bunk beds in the church. There ended up being around 500-600 people from the town that came for church. The service was really great and I was able to sing along with most of the worship songs in English, even though they were being led in Creole. After church we picked up all of the chairs and settled into the afternoon.

I continued to help Johnny to walk. He is so young and is afraid to use his leg because of the slight pain he still has so it was really difficult to get him to try and use his leg. Some times I bribed him with candy or going to the swings, and other times I would just make him do some shuffling with his leg to get places as much as I could. We made a lot of progress over the first two or three days that I was working with him so that was great. Later in the afternoon I also went around with one of the doctors and a nurse and helped clean the wounds and bandages of the kids with amputations. It was pretty wild seeing the wounds and how they were healing from the surgeries. You could also tell if a kid had had a good surgeon or just a normal person like me to cut their limbs off after the earthquake. In the evening we started to pack up our things back at the house to get ready to leave out on Monday afternoon so I tried to continue to take in as much as I could that afternoon and evening.



On Monday we got up and headed over to the compound. The little boys came over as well so there were a lot of kids running around. All of the kids were out of school across the country because of the disaster. It was tough that morning having to start to wrap things up and to start to say good-bye to the other team members from the US who were staying a little longer. The rest of the morning I hung out with the kids until we had to leave. The hardest part of the whole day was as we were leaving, several of the boy from the house I was staying in started asking if I was really leaving and that they wanted me to stay with them. They said that would come to America and bring me back some day. It was very touching and I really do miss those guys. They reminded me a lot also of my youngest nephews.



From there we started walking back to the Dominican Republic. It was crazier this time because it was a "Market Day." Basically there were thousands of people in fields, along the roads, in the roads, etc. All crossing the boarder back and forth buying and selling goods. (Fridays and Mondays are market days there) and it's absolutely crazy. You basically had to put everything in your pockets in your backpack and then carry your backpack on the front of you. After a while we finally made it back to the Hotel Massacre and our waiting mini-bus. From there we drove back through all of the military check points and to our hotel. We all had dinner together that night and hit the hay.

On Tuesday morning we woke up early and headed to the airport. We spent the whole day flying from Santiago to Miami (and through customs), then to Dallas and back to Nashville getting in around 7-8pm that night. The next morning I was back at my desk at work at 7:30am.

So, it was definitely a wild trip and I was really glad to be able to go and to experience all of the people, kids, and events that I did. There was so much that I left out of these two posts, but there is no way that anybody would have read it all had I written it down so I tried to just hit the highlights.

Here are some things that stood out to me though. It's amazing to me that Haiti has all of the problems that it does (extreme poverty, a very corrupt government, and huge strongholds of voodoo practice) yet they are only around 300 and something miles from the coast of FL (an hour and change flight. It amazes me how hard-working and giving the people there are. You could have a kid that hasn't eaten in days...give them a cookie...and if they see another kid off to the side or even me (who really needs a cookie... ha), they will go over and offer some of it to them.

All of the kids at the orphanage share everything including their clothes. They're extremely smart and loving. Also, the three women that run the orphanage are truly amazing to me and really strong women of God. It was truly a privilege to get to watch them interact with the kids and to love on them. I really do think that watching Danita with the kids is the closest I've ever gotten to seeing somebody like a Mother Teresa. It was also really neat for me to be with the younger boys so much and to also get to hang around the older boys as well.



It seems all boys are the same, no-matter what country you are in across the world. I think that's comforting to know. It's also very evident at how much they desire to have a male figure (a father figure) in their lives. They have some awesome mothers for sure and pastor Samuel that is there surely does a great job with them as much as one man can. However, you could see them wanting to be around all of the men at the orphanage. It felt like they were trying to soak up all of the masculine strength around them like a sponge in some ways. There's nothing like having 10 little boys all trying to jump on you and take you down at the same time...or sitting on each side of you all taking punches at your upper arms while your flexing.

There is definitely a great need there in Haiti. Probably beyond what most of us can really understand or grasp. While I was there I was really trying to figure out why God had led me there and what I could really do to touch such a large need. I think that after thinking about it I just realized that I could do only what I'm capable of and I had to do whatever I could. One person can make a difference for sure, but it's pretty awesome to see what that can look like when millions of people offer themselves in different ways to just help out in any way that they can. That's when you really see things come together for sure. It always starts with one person.

So, I think that I will wrap things up here and I appreciate you taking the time to read everything if you've made it this far. My trip was a great reminder to me at how truly blessed I am here on this end with my family, friends, country, life, and resources. I don't ever want to take it for granted and it really is a great responsibility to have been blessed like we have.

I am also really proud to be an American after going on this trip and seeing the out-pouring from Americans trying to help in anyway that they can. Thanks so much for your support and I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

All About Haiti - Part 1

Hey everyone! I did make it back from Haiti week before last and I'm sorry for taking a little bit to post something to everyone. I hit the ground running ever since I've been back and I literally haven't had a chance to write until now. That being said, I thought I'd tell you guys a little bit about the trip and how it all went.



We flew out of Nashville on a Tuesday morning and arrived in Santiago, Dominican Republic that evening. Since Port-A-Prince is so damaged and flooded at the airport, our main way to get into the country was to fly into the Dominican Republic and then travel by bus and foot to and across the border. That night we stayed at a good hotel in Santiago and I roomed with a guy named Toby from Lafayette, LA. He is a great guy and works as a pastor there in LA.



Wednesday was spent mostly traveling and getting settled in. We woke up early and drove in a mini-bus a little over three hours to the border with Haiti. Once we got there we were dropped off at the Hotel Massacre. From there we had to walk through part of the town and then across the border into Haiti. The orphanage we helped out at is called "Hope for Haiti Children's Center and is located right across the boarder in a town called Ouanaminthe. After getting through customs we arrived at the orphanage by foot and started to get our bearings. The main compound of the orphanage is really nice and contains the school, the church, the cafeteria, and rooms where the older boys stay. There are a couple of other houses down the block that are either owned or rented by the orphanage. One house has the regular girls that live at the orphanage full time, another is the "missions house", and the third is the Little Boys house (where I stayed).



Our team was made up of some awesome people from TN, GA, LA, FL, and KY. We were the group that was coming into help associated with Visiting Orphans. Once at the orphanage we joined a few other teams from across the country. One group was from NC/VA and the other was from CO mostly. Dr. Eric (a pediatrician from Memphis) and myself were the only two from our team to stay at the little boys house. The little boys house is the house that has around 20 somethings younger boys that range in ages from around 4-10 or so. Later that afternoon we also got to meet Danita (the lady that started the orphanage by herself years ago). She had just gotten back from Port au Prince a day or so before with the first group of new orphans. You could tell that she was very tired but some how had the energy to still speak to everyone and to go around and speak to the children. All together it was a very busy and tiring day but we were glad to be there and to start to settle in.

On Thursday morning I woke up early to noises of roosters crowing, kids and other people talking on the other side of the wall, and motorcycles and trucks rumbling down the street. Since the last time I was in a country like this was when I lived in Sudan, I had forgotten the sounds that you hear during the night and while you're laying in your bed. For example, who knew that roosters crowed day and night, and never really sleep somehow I think. I think that you learn to love it after a while. In the US you don't get these experiences because of our insulated walls and windows keep out the outside sounds and some how separate you from your neighbors just a little bit more.



I got up a little earlier than expected and before anyone else woke up, so I decided to go ahead and hop in the shower for my first ice-cold shower of the week. Boy they sure do wake you up. Since I was done first I spent a little time on the front porch with the younger boys who were a lot of fun to be around and hang out with. From there we met up with everyone else at the compound and started to figure out what we would do for the day. Throughout the first day we all really did whatever needed to be done at the time. You see there were already 75 orphans there full time and this first group of kids had added in an additional 40-50 kids or so from Port au Prince. The new kids were a mix of backgrounds.

Some were already orphans from other orphanages that had collapsed during the earthquake and didn't have a place to go. Others lost all of their family in the earthquake and had nobody left. There ages ranged from a couple of infants to around 13 years old. In the first group there were three kids that had amputations and other injuries from broken legs. The rest of the day I helped to watch the kids, put together new bunk beds, and other things that needed to be done.

That night I also was selected to be one of three team members that stayed with the new kids who were sleeping in the church at night. We had to be there to make sure that they didn't run off or use the bathroom in the floor at night. For many of the new kids they had never had three meals a day, a bed to sleep on, or even had been on a swing before. So, a lot of the days were focused around trying to get some structure in their lives.



On Friday morning I got up after not really sleeping the whole night and helped get the kids up and going to start the day. Some of them had already started to rustle a little bit before the sun came up but I had them to stay in their beds until it was a little before 6am. The morning team came to relieve us and I went back to our room at the little boys house to take a shower and change. The rest of the day was pretty laid back for me because I was in the church the night before so I wasn't assigned any other tasks for the day. So, most of the day I played with the kids and just helped out where they needed me to throughout the day. Also, Danita had left that morning heading back to Port au Prince to try and find more kids who were left in the hospitals without anybody or roaming the streets without any family or food.



The stories I had already heard about the things going on in Port au Prince to the south of us were just as bad or worse than what you heard on T.V. back home. I learned that three of the five major hospitals in Port au Prince had collapsed instantly when the earthquake hit. If you were a kid with two broken femurs after the earthquake hit but they were sticking out of the skin, then you essentially weren't an immediate priority and were passed in line for people with worse injuries. None of the children that had had amputations that were with us had any anesthesia during their surgeries. There were more and worse stories than that, but I'll hold off on that for now.

I know that I'm only through Friday for now but I think I will stop here since I have already written so much. In fact, if you've read this far I hope that you don't need glasses now because of me. I think that I will break this story up into two posts and will try and post the next one tomorrow or Saturday. In the mean time, if you would like to see my pictures from the trip you can click here to check them out. Have a great morning and thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers while I was gone!

I'll follow-up soon.

Coupla Things

1. Tonight we've got plans to talk/download/upload/debrief Haiti. Therefore, you should expect to maybe see some pictures... videos... and maybe even a blog post 'round these here parts in a matter of days.

2. I am currently running a V-day inspired contest over on my photography blog and if you're in a giving mood, you should head on over. I promise it won't require anything but a quick brainstorm and a few minutes of typing. That's it.

3. My little ol' photography website (the free one from Showit) was nominated for the Best of 2009 "Free at Last" category. The Showit team picked this round and are now leaving it in the hands of the Facebook masses. The voting is housed within a poll on Facebook... so if you're a Facebook user, you like my website, and you want to vote for it - please do. It would mean the world to me.

Okay, I think that's it...

Cliff is Back

But he's got some sort of cold-bug (which isn't uncommong for being surrounded by a number of kids for a week) and is pretty close to exhausted, but he's in one piece and full-up from his experiences in Haiti. So much so, that he's already plotting out a way for me to get there later this spring if possible.

I will say, it is good to have him back.

I will also say, both our hearts still feel very deeply for the work that is and needs to be done in all parts of Haiti - not just in Ounaminthe with the orphans.

My hope is to convince Cliff to share with you some of his own reflections fromt he trip, as well as some of the pictures/videos he took during his time there in the coming days. We appreciate so much your faithfulness to give, to pray, and to support both Cliff in his going and me in my being home. It has meant so much to us!

Finding Joy in the Rubble

Got a quick call from Cliff tonight who was checking in briefly after what he called "a pretty full day" there in Ouanaminthe. They continued working with the children and welcomed in a few new children who were flown in from Port au Prince. These children had pretty significant physical trauma from the earthquake, one with a full arm amputation and others with casts placed on limbs without the bones reset and no x-rays.

Cliff shared that he has been working with a couple of people on the rehabilitation for a little boy named Johnny. Johnny's femur was broken and repaired by a surgeon in Port au Prince. A quick Google search and I found some more info as well as an image of the x-ray and a brief appearance by Johnny in a Anderson Cooper video... it's all so heartbreaking.

This was before Johnny was taken in by Danita:



From "Practicing Resurrection":

On Jan. 21 - "Johnny is a five year-old boy discovered by Danita and Britanny in a clinic in Port-au-Prince yesterday (Jan 21). He was naked, with a broken leg, and wounds on his head and back from having a wall collapse on him. He has the number 36 written in faint faded ink on his arm. He’d been in the clinic for ten days, alone, on the same mattress, with no family. And yesterday he became the first of many new kids taken in by Danita’s Children."



"Johnny was in the is condition for many days, with no medications and with a cast on his ankle. Evidently no one had noticed that his femur was broken."

On Jan. 24 - ”Johnny’s surgery went amazingly well. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him. I can’t even describe what it is like in the hospitals here- there are no words to describe the devastation. Haitian people are so resilient- you walk by a tent of children in full body casts who have just had limbs amputated and they’re smiling.”

And now, walking, after being at the Hope for Haiti Center.

And just think, that is one child's story of coming from a place of total ruin and devastation to a place of hope. I will say this has all made this very real for me again. The images, stories, hearing Cliff. As an emotional being, my heart breaks for these lives. And yet it finds small places of hope and joy for the lives being saved. For the stories of people being found buried alive ELEVEN DAYS after such a devastating thing. It is just unreal. And it's sad to think, already, that there are people that live mindless to this sort of thing day in and day out. And I'm not saying we all have to every minute of everyday, but open your eyes and see and serve when and however you are able. Please.

In the end, after all of my internet wandering, I came upon this image in a gallery posted on Facebook by another team member in Ounaminthe (Christa Hahn) and my heart will go to bed lifted and joyful. And I am thankful for that.

Getting Accustomed in Haiti

Heard from Cliff this morning! Bright and early I got a call from an "Unavailable" number and jumped to answer (though I normally do not) in hopes that it would be him, and sure enough, it was! He had just finished pulling an all-night watch of that church I shared the video of yesterday where the children are staying. He was on duty to stay up and make sure that the children were sleeping, not horsing around, could find their way to the restroom, and so on. He sounded tired but happy, and I'm thankful for that - because even he said the stories he's been hearing from people there in Ouanaminthe about their time in and around Port au Prince has been so very sad.

Apparently the children they have taken in are slowly getting accustomed to their new home, though there will be much time for that. More will come in soon and more time will be spent helping them transition and heal, both physically and emotionally. Cliff shared that Danita was headed back to Port au Prince today to gather some more orphans and that a few with recent surgeries should be coming by plane here within a day or so.

He said that today was the first day they'd work with the children with more of a structured schedule, and Amanda's update shared that they spent time with the children having them create cute and colorful nametags for them to wear. Most of these children do not know English and so even to just have their name recognized has been a delight for them. Both Amanda and Cliff have shared that while shaken in many ways, there are many children still very joyful and childlike after everything they have been through. That just amazes me.

And so I sit here in our quiet home watching the snow fall, trying to decide if I wish more to be there to share that with him or for him to be here to share this with me. But the decision doesn't matter, ultimately, because we are where we are. And I am so thankful for the example my husband is for me in every way and for a God who moves people to act in whatever way they can.

My way, today, is prayer.

The Church As An Extension

One of the biggest things Cliff and I remember wondering about his trip and the orphans was: where are they going to sleep? When they already provide space for 75, to accomodate so many more has with it some logistical issues. He had heard on Friday at a conference call that it was likely the nearby church would give up its space to house the children.

Sure enough, they have. Check this out.

You do what you've gotta do for these little lives. (P.S. you can hear Cliff talking in the background of this one).

From Cliff's Team Leader...

They have made it to Ouanaminthe - here is an update from Amanda, Cliff's team leader...

"It was quite a journey crossing the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic. You aren't allowed to cross by car or a vehicle unless you have a special government permit, so we were dropped off by bus about 3 blocks away and all our luggage was placed in carts and we walked through. There was a very hard line of demarcation that you could see between the living standards in the D.R. and in Haiti. Literally, shacks and dozens of people just bathing and washing in the river, next to nice large Mexican style building on the D.R. side.

Then, it was just a small walk to Danita's Children's orphanage. She brought in 28 new children at 2 AM last night. The day before 3 children had arrived by a charter plane. One that I mentioned in my earlier post, Joselyn, a boy actually who had his leg amputated and another young girl who has lost her arm and her whole family. Then, another young boy arrive with a broken femur. He too lost his parents in the earthquake. The 28 new kids are displaced from different orphanages, except a small handful that Danita picked up from the street.

I spent the day with the two doctors helping with the check ups for the kids. I was fun playing the nurse! I weighed them and helped with medication. The rest of the team helped with getting the kids their showers."

About to Leave for Haiti

Surprise!
It's Cliff! Some how I just found a computer here at our hotel this morning that I could hop on use the internet for a few minutes, which was exciting. As Kristine mentioned in the last post, we will be leaving here for Haiti in about another 30 minutes or so. I've had a chance to meet the rest of our team (8 all together) and they all are really nice people from all over. We are going to try and pick up some more medical supplies and maybe some crutches that have been asked for by the missionaries at the orphanage we are going to. I'm not sure exactly how long it will take us to get to the village but I'm guessing we might be there around lunch time. We will see how that works out. Our living accomodations and available technology will change from here so I'm not sure if I will be able to post again until we come back out of Haiti.

I just wanted to take a moment this morning to update everyone myself and say thank you to all of you who have supported me on this trip and for all of the prayers! I can't tell you how much they mean to me. Please keep praying for me as the next week goes on and especially tomorrow as the rest of the orphans arrive from Port-A-Price. Thanks again everyone and have a wonderful week!

Cliff

He Has Arrived

Ah, now that's more like it.

Apparently, we learn something new everyday in this whole Haiti adventure.

If you compare the last map to this one, you'll notice the airplane has moved and that's because the team flew in not to Santo Domingo but to Santiago, Dominican Republic. It appears the difference got lost in translation when the itinerary made its way to me.

And Santiago is where Cliff finds himself as I write this.

Just heard from him on a who-knows-how-expensive-and-who-really-cares 3:05 minute phone call from the Dominican Republic. Apparently they are staying the night at a hotel in DR that's just absurdly "swanky" in comparison to what you would expect and to what the next week of accommodations will have in store for them.

He's had a long day of travel and meeting his teammates, but sounds hopeful for tomorrow's journey to Ouanaminthe (which, I have learned, is pronounced wanna-mint... no really, it is). They will head out at 9:30 AM tomorrow morning (that is 7:30 AM here) on a bus to cross the border into Haiti. I do know they have plans on the way to stop at a medical supply store to buy a set of crutches for a little girl named Jocelyn, one of the orphans who has been relocated, and who recently went through an amputation due to the earthquake.

And that's just one life of many Cliff will encounter in the coming days... not sure when or how I will hear from him again, but I will try to keep you posted as I do. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Update on Haiti Trip

As the last day has progressed, we've gotten more details on what lies ahead and what exactly Cliff's trip to Haiti entails. After a phone call yesterday regarding the possibility of postponing the trip by a week, we've pretty much left all of this open to change. Fortunately for Dave Ramsey's generosity of a mission week for all employees and Cliff's boss's flexibility with his schedule, that is perfectly alright. Both with them, with him, and with me.

Cliff was on a conference call today with 35 other individuals across the country who will be involved in a three-part effort to help Danita's Children, a non-profit run by an American woman in Haiti, take in nearly 200 orphans relocated from Port au Prince. Danita's Children currently operates an orphanage called the Hope for Haiti Children's Center which is home to 75 orphans already. With this increase in little hearts, feet, bodies, and mouths - the organization is greatly in need of helping hands, for which Cliff will be one.

To the best of our knowledge, the relocation of the orphans from Port au Prince is incomplete, and will not likely be so until Thursday of next week. They are being brought north in segments because of transportation issues, thus the three waves of help being sent from a couple of partner churches and organizations across the country. Cliff will be in what is being considered the second wave and will now leave Nashville on Tuesday for Haiti.

A CEO of a medical supply company in the area has generously donated a number of items for the team to bring with them to the orphanage. It is our understanding that this is greatly needed, as a number of the children being moved from Port au Prince are in various stages of physical well-being. Cliff said that many of the children being transported have not yet received medical attention and will once arriving at the orphanage. Medical supplies, as well as clothing and additional food and bedding supplies are greatly needed as well, and for which support is being raised.

Below is a map to give you an idea of where Cliff will be working.



The airplane is just above Santa Domingo, where he will be flying into the Dominican Republic. The exclamation point, of course, is located near Port au Prince - the largest city nearest the epicenter. Finally, the house symbol is located in the area where the orphanage is located - which is evidently a nine-hour drive from Port au Prince on a good day.

I will keep you updated as I hear things...

Topsy Turvy World

I know none of you reading this are a stranger to the devastation in Haiti. It's hard not to be confronted everyday with the disparity and sadness and loss of a country ruined by natural disaster when already so in need of help.

Cliff, as you may or may not know, has a heart for relief work. In 2005 - wow, that was five years ago - a tsunami turned Indonesia upside down and Cliff? he managed to find himself on a team of ten going with a church he'd only been visiting for just a few months to the heart of a devastated island to help. To build shelter and school for a people who had lost everything.

And now, five years later... I shouldn't be surprised that that same guy - the one who went to Indonesia, and who, when asked for his countries of preference when selecting where to go with his Samaritan's Purse internship, chose Sudan or Afghanistan (I mean, REALLY?) - has found a way to get to Haiti to serve - in only a matter of 24 hours, mind you.

On Sunday, Cliff will head out of Nashville to Miami and then to the Dominican Republic and then finally to Haiti where he will be working with a team of five people to help with an effort which has rescued over 200 orphans from Port au Prince to another part of the country. Gosh, I wish I could go. But nonetheless, that's about all I know right now.

I will keep you all updated on as much as possible, and know that we would love love love your prayers. And if you are at all inclined to donate or sponsor support right now, just touch base with us and we'll let you know how. Otherwise, please just continue to pray for the country and if you think of it, for Cliff's team and their trip.

Thanks, everyone.